


A Gift From Father Christmas

by JediIlonaShepard



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Christmas Eve, Christmas gift, Christmastime, Colonist (Mass Effect), Gen, Loneliness, Redemption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-03 23:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5310572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JediIlonaShepard/pseuds/JediIlonaShepard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Young Seidra Shepard is given book to read on Christmas Eve to help her re-embrace life.</p><p> </p><p>  <sub>Shepard and David Anderson © BioWare & Electronic Art/Microsoft</sub><br/>A Christmas Carol © Charles Dickens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Gift From Father Christmas

_**December 24 2176 4:37 pm.** _

It was Christmas Eve at the The Alliance military school on Earth.

It was the time of giving, the time of love, the time of joy, and a time of peace.

Almost every student went home for Christmas time, while some stayed and had celebrated  
christmas in the mess halls. 

The students were and helping around with the dishs, prepairing for a christmas dinner, and then  
they were singing christmas carols just before dinner would be served.

But one young student, Seidra Shepard who had enrolled there just after trying to kill a slaver a year before,  
as revenge,for selling out her homeworld, Mindoir to the bloodthirsty batarian slavers which led to the  
loss of her family and friends, kept her distance from other people.

Even on Christmas Eve.

She always enjoyed christmas, Even as a child, but since the painful loss of her family and her home  
on Mindoir,christmas was never the same for her.

While everyone else had their christmastime, Seidra went to the bunkroom to  
be alone in the dark.

As she reached her bed, she spotted something on her pillow. It was a small package, wrapped in light brown paper.

Seidra picked up the package and looked at it. 

It read: To: Seidra Ilona Shepard.. Seidra then sat down on her bed and unwrapped  
the gift and found a book which it's title said _A Christmas Carol._

Also there was a small note which it read: _Read it well, and Understand it well. Have a Merry Christmas.  
Yours Truely, David Edward Anderson._

Seidra cocked her eyebrow. "Who's is this David Edward Anderson?" She asked herself.  
"And why did he send me this book?"

She shrugged and begain reading the book the was given to her, and found out that the book was about a  
greedy old man named Ebenezer Scrooge, who lived in England during the early years of the Victorian era,  
hated christmas and anything to do with christmas whatsoever.

He also has been very cold and distant from other people and wanted nothing to do with them.

Frankly, Seidra despised people who would commit the atrocities out of greed. Like the slaver who sold out Mindoir.

Seidra read from a beginning in which he was the chief mourner at the funeral of his late partner Jacob Marley  
who died seven years before on Christmas Eve.

Marley came back as a ghost to tell Scrooge that he needed to change his ways or he will end up  
wearing chains like himself.

He also said that he will be visited by three other ghost. The Ghost of Christmas Past, The Ghost of Christmas Present,  
and The Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come.

Then after he left, Scrooge decided that it was nothing but a dream and went to bed.

He was then visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past who showed him what things were like for him when he was  
young and how he lost his true love named Belle.

The relationship between Scrooge and Belle coming to an end brought tears to Seidra's eyes.

Scrooge was visited by the The Ghost of Christmas Present who showed him that his mistreated clerk,  
Bob Cratchit is barly making ends meet due to the fact he was being paid very little, and that his youngist son  
Tiny Tim who was very ill will die if Scrooge dosen't mend his ways.

The ghost also showed that his nephew, named Fred still cared for him inspite making unsuccessful attempts  
to invite Scrooge to come dine with him and his wife on Christmas day. 

Scrooge was reminded of his kind-loving sister Fran, who died after giving birth to Fred.

Then Scrooge met The Ghost of Christmas Yet-To-Come.

The ghost showed Scrooge the people feeling no grief over a man's death and The Cratchit Family mouring  
the loss of Tiny Tim, which also brought Seidra to tears.

Finally Scrooge was taken to the graveyard, where he found as unkempt tombstone that happened to be his own.

He pleaded to the ghost to give him a chance to mend his ways, swearing the he will honor christmas in heart and keep it all year,  
that he will learn from his own past, and live in the present as a better, man and would be able to  
remove his name from the tombstone.

Scrooge awoke and found himself in bed. He thanked Jacob Marley and the three spirits for getting him to re-embrace life.  
He went to the window and asked the young boy what day it was, the boy told him that it was Christmas day.

He was happy he didn't miss it, and commented that the spirits did it all in one night.  
He paid the boy to buy a big prize turkey and had him a man bring it there to be sent to the Cratchit Family home.

Later that day Scrooge gladly accepted Fred's invitation to his house for a Christmas dinner.

The next day, Scrooge pretended to be in his old ways and surprised Bob Cratchit by telling him he was going to raise  
his salary and will assist him in with his struggling family.

At the end of the story, Scrooge became a better man, and became a better then his word had no further visits from the  
three ghost.

He also became a father figure to Tiny Tim who got well and strong. 

Seidra smiled as she closed the book and placed it under her pillow.

"Thank so much, David Anderson," She whispered. "And merry christmas."

She rose from her bed and left the bunkroom to join her fellow students at the mess hall for a christmas dinner.


End file.
